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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25457116">5 Times Peter Nureyev Was Cold and 1 Time Juno Noticed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/amillionworlds/pseuds/amillionworlds'>amillionworlds</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Penumbra Podcast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>5+1 Things, Aftermath of Torture, Canon Non-Binary Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Fluff, Other, Peter’s Just Cold, Rita I love you, Sickfic, additional content warnings in notes, buddy aurinko hold my hand challenge, but only kind of</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:49:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,647</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25457116</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/amillionworlds/pseuds/amillionworlds</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter simply hated being cold, especially because it seemed he always was cold. </p><p>But that wasn’t his fault, and besides, he had his own way of dealing with it. </p><p>Juno Steel, former P.I. and current occupant of Peter Nureyev’s heart, was just about the warmest person Nureyev had ever met.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>244</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>5 Times Peter Nureyev Was Cold and 1 Time Juno Noticed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello lovely people! I wasn’t sure I would ever publish again, but here I am! Thank you to my lovely best friend/editor—you know who you are!! </p><p>Additional content warnings: minor alcohol use, mentions of torture, minor illness, pain descriptions, injury, minor argument.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>1 </p><p>The Carte Blanche ran cold, partially because Buddy absolutely would not tolerate them complaining about being too hot, and partially, Peter believed, to torment him. </p><p>Peter Nureyev stood by the fact that the worst heist he’d ever been on was one where he’d been forced to hike with a dignitary in frigid temperatures and the snow back on Earth. </p><p>He simply hated being cold, especially because it seemed he always was cold. </p><p>But that wasn’t his fault, and besides, he had his own way of dealing with it. </p><p>Juno Steel, former P.I. and current occupant of Peter Nureyev’s heart, was just about the warmest person Nureyev had ever met. </p><p>And not in the metaphorical sense, now, that title probably went to Rita. But Juno was a space heater, and if that meant Peter wasn’t cold, well, it couldn’t be that bad. </p><p>But Peter couldn’t find Juno, and it was cold aboard the Carte Blanche. He’d checked their quarters, and the living room, and with Rita, who was the only person who always seemed to know where Juno was. Nureyev had just assumed this was one of her habits she had yet to shake. He was wondering if she even wanted to as he knocked on her door and posed his question. </p><p>“Boss is probably in the kitchen Mistah Ransom! Miss Buddy put him to work as soon as she found out he could cook.”</p><p>“Thank you, Rita,” he said. He liked Rita, which was more than he could say for most people he encountered. But Rita’s room was even colder than where he’d been before, and he left rather quickly to avoid the chill. </p><p>And she was right after all. Juno was in the kitchen, making something that Peter didn’t quite recognize but smelled delicious. </p><p>Juno turned as the door opened, smiling up at Nureyev like he was the sun and the moon and the stars all in one. Nureyev hoped such a smile would never end. </p><p>“Hey,” Juno whispered, as Nureyev wrapped his arms around his waist. Even though he had to slouch over, Nureyev could hold Juno and still manage to bury his face in his neck. </p><p>“You’re so warm,” Nureyev hummed contentedly. Juno sighed, leaning into the touch. The two stood like that for a few moments as Juno stirred whatever was in the big pot on the stove. Nureyev sneakily tucked his hands under Juno’s sweater. </p><p>“Oh shit!” Juno exclaimed, flinching where Nureyev’s cold hands touched his bare skin. </p><p>Nureyev just grinned in Juno’s neck, and the two of them eased gently back into one another’s hold.</p><p> </p><p>2</p><p>Juno Steel found that Peter Nureyev, or rather Duke Rose, was a touchy man, always keeping a hand on his arm or his knee. It was a bit of a shock at first. Rex Glass hadn’t been nearly so touchy. </p><p>Dahlia Rose must have enjoyed it though, so he let Nureyev continue. And hey, if Juno enjoyed it too, no one had to know about it. </p><p>After their time with Engstrom, the two walked back to their room in the Oasis Resort and Casino, and Juno realized something he hadn’t before:</p><p>There was only one bed. Juno panicked briefly, a million different scenarios racing in his head. </p><p>Peter didn’t seemed fazed by it. He simply settled into what Juno thought was likely his bedtime routine, gathering what looked like silk pajamas and a rather large container full of small creams and serums. </p><p>“Quite the collection of...um, actually I have no idea what those are,” Juno said. Peter looked up at him with mischievous eyes, a small smirk on his face. </p><p>“Oh Dahlia,” Nureyev teased. Juno considered sticking his tongue out at Peter, but thought better of it. “You’ve seen my skincare routine before darling. It takes upkeep to look this good.”</p><p>“Of course, Duke. You seem to forget how long we’ve known each other.” And despite his discomfort or insecurity with the idea of sharing a bed with Peter Nureyev, he slipped into the far side of the bed, too tired to argue. </p><p>Nureyev turned off his light and the two slowly fell asleep, both filled with thoughts of how close and how far they were from each other. </p><p>But Juno didn’t stay asleep for long, jerking awake as the last of the covers on the bed were ripped away from him. It wasn’t even that cold in the room. </p><p>Groaning, he pulled the covers back over top of himself and slipped back into his dreams. </p><p>Until about half an hour later, when he was woken yet again totally uncovered. And as much as he was irritated, Nureyev certainly looked adorable all bundled up in the blankets. His face was barely visible, just the tip of his nose, and his long eyelashes soft upon his smooth skin. </p><p>Juno hadn’t realized how close he’d gotten until Nureyev’s eyes opened. </p><p>“Juno?” he asked with a yawn. </p><p>Juno moved back rapidly, eyes wide. “Oh, I, well, uh—I just.” Juno groaned, dropping his head back against the headboard of the bed. “You just, well, you stole the covers.”</p><p>Peter gave a little laugh, a small smile sneaking onto his face. “My apologies, detective. It seems you might have to come a little closer. Perhaps then I might not need to take them again. You are rather warm.”</p><p>Juno laughed, then realized Nureyev wasn’t joking. “Oh, yeah, okay,” he said. Peter rolled over towards the middle of the bed and sighed.</p><p>“Goodnight, Juno,” he whispered, turning away and closing his eyes. </p><p>Juno paused a moment before making himself comfortable. “Goodnight, Nureyev.”</p><p>As they slept, Nureyev stole the blankets and Juno inched closer to keep himself covered, until they met in the middle. </p><p>Nureyev didn’t have any trouble keeping warm after that. </p><p> </p><p>3 </p><p>It was far too cold out for Nureyev to be dressed in that, Juno thought. But woah, he’d forgotten how unbelievable Nureyev looked in his so-called ‘racy’ costume. At least, that was what Buddy had called it. </p><p>Buddy was right, of course. Nureyev was a bombshell, draped in deep green with earrings that looked more expensive than Juno’s rent back in Hyperion City. Juno figured on just about anyone else, the feather boa would have looked over the top, but on Nureyev it just worked, and worked well. That just made it even more of a shame that the two of them weren’t able to act as a couple in this particular heist. </p><p>Earlier, when Buddy had been explaining the plan, Juno had been shocked. </p><p>“This one will be a bit different, darlings,” she had said. “The two of you will be in there together, but you are not to interact. Ransom will be, for lack of a better word, seducing our target, while Juno poses as a waiter.” </p><p>She continued speaking after that, but Juno couldn’t help how his mouth dropped open slightly. Nureyev snuck a glance over at him and let out a small sound that Juno figured must’ve been a laugh. </p><p>That conversation replayed over and over in Juno’s head as they approached the party they were going to infiltrate. </p><p>Peter was nestled up against Juno in the backseat, the lack of space between them keeping him plenty warm, at least as the car was moving. But as they reached their destination, Juno pulled away, brushing off a few loose feathers. </p><p>Nureyev found himself missing that warm touch much more than he’d thought he would. </p><p>Their target was easy enough for Nureyev to distract, and the mission went rather swimmingly. </p><p>However, he couldn’t say it was pleasant to be outside in the frigid weather, wearing very little in regards to warmth, while Rita swiped almost 5 million creds from their target’s bank account. </p><p>And to Peter’s utter dismay, Juno was nowhere to be found as he stepped inside, ready to return to the Carte Blanche. Nureyev found himself weaving through groups of chattering people, scanning the crowd for his partner. He paused to grab another glass of wine. </p><p>Eventually, he wandered into a more empty hallway near the kitchen.</p><p>Someone turned the corner in front of him, and Nureyev remembered that this section of the ridiculously large mansion was strictly off-limits to guests. </p><p>“Sir?” the person asked. Nureyev spun drunkenly, a careful move that had gotten him out of 27 mishaps and counting. </p><p>But even a falsely drunken spin in six-inch stilettos was dangerous, and Peter found himself toppling over. Although, it was entirely possible that the spin wasn’t quite falsely drunken. </p><p>But instead of plummeting to the floor as he’d expected, Nureyev found himself in warm, strong arms, gazing up at Juno’s twinkling eye. </p><p>“Thank you, my lady,” he whispered, grinning madly. “But might I take my leave?”</p><p>Juno helped Nureyev right himself, and when they pulled apart, Nureyev missed the warm touch immensely. </p><p>It may have been a large mansion, but even with hundreds of guests, the rooms were cold and Nureyev found he had goosebumps. </p><p>“I’ll see you in the car, darling,” Peter whispered, stumbling off in a way Juno knew he’d done before. Juno turned to leave grinning, and had already turned into a different hall, too far away to hear Nureyev’s delighted little giggle. </p><p>He hurriedly made his leave, easily darting out with the first round of waitstaff to be dismissed for the evening. </p><p>Their getaway was exactly where it was supposed to be, and Juno wasn’t surprised to see Nureyev leaning up against the car, looking dashing underneath the beams of the distant streetlights. </p><p>“Why, hello handsome,” Nureyev chuckled, reaching out to Juno and gently slipping his hands into Juno’s inner jacket pockets with a sigh. </p><p>Juno snorted and released Nureyev just enough to get into the car. </p><p>“Hey, Big Guy,” Juno said as the two of them settled into the backseat. Jet nodded at them, and began to drive off. </p><p>Juno found that Nureyev’s hands had made it back into his pockets, and that he seemed to have a rather cuddly master thief pressed into his shoulder. It took him a moment to realize why. </p><p>“Are you actually drunk?” Juno whispered. Peter giggled lightly, tucking his face into Juno’s shoulder further. </p><p>“No,” he said, his overly loud voice muffled somewhat by Juno’s jacket. “You’re just warm.” Juno pulled the boa away to look at Nureyev. </p><p>He tried his best not to laugh, and caught an amused look from Jet in the rear view mirror. </p><p>“Mmhmm. I see. Well then, if you’re not drunk, I suppose it just means you’ll have to wait until we get back onto the Carte Blanche before you—oh.”</p><p>But whatever Juno had been about to say, it was silenced by the soft snores from a fabulous, drunk, and quite sleepy Nureyev. </p><p>And if Nureyev had murmured about how warm Juno was as he was carried back to their shared quarters, well, no one else had to know about it.</p><p> </p><p>4 </p><p>When Juno woke up, the first thing he noticed was how warm the room was. He felt like he was covered in sweat, but when he sat up, he knew he felt perfectly fine. </p><p>He looked around the room, confused, before glancing down at Nureyev. Suddenly everything clicked into place.  </p><p>Nureyev was coated in sweat, his cheeks pink and face contorted at what Juno figured was probably a bad dream. A fever dream, he corrected himself. After the week they’d had, with little to no sleep, Juno wasn’t surprised at the circles under Nureyev’s eyes, stark against his pale face. But even then, Juno still hated himself for not noticing sooner. </p><p>Juno considered waking him up, but thought better of it. He decided it was better to let Nureyev rest. Juno knew Nureyev had enough trouble falling asleep, even without the fear of fever dreams, so if he was sleeping, he was going to stay that way. </p><p>Knowing that Nureyev would likely wake if he moved too suddenly, Juno carefully extracted himself from the bed and Nureyev’s grasp. </p><p>It wasn’t typical for Juno to come out of their room in pajamas, but he didn’t bother to change. He knew exactly who he was looking for. </p><p>Vespa was in the common area, reading something on what looked like comms but bigger. </p><p>“Vespa?”</p><p>She whipped her head around at Juno’s voice, startled. </p><p>“What do you want Steel?” she snapped. Juno could see it didn’t reach her eyes, and he felt some of the tension in him dissipate </p><p>“Ransom’s got a fever. Do you—“ he paused, sighing softly. “Do you know what I can do to help him? Or give him?”</p><p>“Yeah, I can get you something for that. Anything else you noticed?” </p><p>Juno shook his head and followed her to the medical bay. It was reassuring, he realized, to know that Vespa knew exactly what she was doing. </p><p>“Steel!” she called, jolting him back to attention. He realized he’d zoned out, looking blankly at the Bailey she’d been searching through. </p><p>“Oh! Uh, yeah?”</p><p>She shook her head, both annoyed and maybe, Juno thought, a little bit maternally. </p><p>“Just give him two of these with water. They’ll cool off his fever.”</p><p>Juno nodded, taking the pills she offered. As he made his way towards the door, he stopped to look back at her. </p><p>“Thanks, Vespa,” he muttered, so softly he almost didn’t catch it himself. Vespa did, however, and nodded. Juno took it as a sign to leave, and headed back towards his quarters. </p><p>Back in the dark room, Peter was curled up in a tight ball, shifting restlessly and covered almost entirely by the duvet. Juno flipped the light on as he approached the bed. </p><p>“Nureyev?” he said, shaking the man gently. Peter wriggled a little, and slowly opened his eyes. He flinched at the light. Juno rushed to turn off the overhead, leaving on only the small bedside lamp. </p><p>“Juno?” Nureyev asked sleepily. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“You’re sick, that’s all. Here, take these.” Peter obliged, and pulled Juno down onto the bed with him with shaky arms.</p><p>“Stay with me,” Nureyev whispered, curling tightly into him, head on Juno’s chest.  “You’re warm.”</p><p>Juno shook his head gently, careful not to jostle Nureyev too much. “You’re the one who’s warm. Hot. Too hot. Just—“ he paused, carding his fingers through Nureyev’s hair “—go to sleep. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”</p><p>Nureyev hummed, melting into Juno and releasing whatever tension he’d built up with his dreams. </p><p>“Promise?” he asked meekly. Juno bent down to kiss the top of Nureyev’s head, and with a little sigh, Nureyev closed his eyes. </p><p>“I promise.” </p><p> </p><p>5</p><p>Nureyev was trying, trying so hard to be strong, for Juno’s sake, but he was hurting. The shocks and pain Miasma inflicted were certainly taking their toll. Peter knew he didn’t have too much left in him to be strong. </p><p>Juno was fighting too. He took beating after beating from that thing inside him just to stop Miasma’s assault on Peter. </p><p>Both of them knew they were stuck in a race they couldn’t win. If one failed, the other suffered for it. If one died, they both knew the other wouldn’t be far behind. </p><p>Nureyev couldn’t help but think about the pain Juno had been in earlier just that day. The way he’d screamed and thrashed as that thing in his head messed with his mind. Peter flinched at the memory, his worries continuing. If he was alone in their cell, who knew what was happening to Juno.  </p><p>He made to stand but winced, stopping in his tracks. Every cell in his body burned, his muscles tightened in pain, as the cold air seemingly seeped into his muscles, making him even more uncomfortable. </p><p>Nureyev decided it might’ve just been better to sit there on the frigid ground of the Martian tomb as he waited for Juno. </p><p>It didn’t take long, and Juno had a habit of being heard before he was seen. Nureyev couldn’t be bothered to scold Juno for it, even though he figured it’d only get the both of them in trouble later. </p><p>Two of Miasma’s assistants wrangled a rather limp-looking Juno into their cell, dropping him unceremoniously onto the floor. Juno groaned and muttered a few choice words Nureyev couldn’t quite hear. Peter figured he understood Juno’s meaning clearly despite it. </p><p>When Juno stayed in his pile on the floor, Nureyev grew even more concerned.</p><p> “Juno? Juno, dear, are you alright?” he asked. </p><p>Juno flopped over onto his side to look at Nureyev. “‘M fine. ‘S not like my face is bleeding everywhere and we’re stuck in this hellhole a mile under the ground.”</p><p>Peter grimaced, thoroughly lacking the energy to deal with a crabby Juno. He didn’t have to deal for too long however. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” Juno said quietly. “It’s just—“</p><p>He broke off with a dejected sigh, sounding as exhausted as Peter felt. </p><p>“We’re going to get out of here, Juno. I promise.” </p><p>It took him a moment to figure out what he was going to do, but Nureyev had always been a quick thinker. </p><p>“Come here,” he said, stretching his legs out for Juno to lay his head down. Juno dragged himself over to Nureyev before plopping down into his lap. </p><p>As Peter ran his fingers through Juno’s hair, Juno let out a contented hum, seeming to melt into Nureyev. </p><p>“Y’know,” he said softly. “You could make money doing this.”</p><p>Peter laughed and rolled his eyes. “Doing what, detective?”</p><p>Juno managed to wrap even more of himself around Nureyev, the two of them tangled together as Juno laid his head on Nureyev’s lap. </p><p>“Y’know, being all soft and cuddly and, well, cute. You’re really something, you know that Nureyev?”</p><p>Peter beamed, looking down at Juno practically asleep on his lap. He cuddled in closer, holding his lover and his heat source tightly. </p><p>Despite the chill of the Martian tomb, Nureyev found he wasn’t so cold anymore at all. And that realization was all it took to send him off to sleep, dreaming of his lady in the darkness and the night. </p><p> </p><p>+1</p><p>“Listen to me, you idiot! You could’ve been killed!”</p><p>Nureyev was angry, and Juno knew it. But Juno had saved the mission, so it didn’t matter, even if he had come a little too close to being target practice. </p><p>“But I wasn’t,” Juno spat, spinning to face Peter. “Why don’t you get it? It doesn’t matter what could’ve happened. Nothing bad happened. Why can’t you just get over it?”</p><p>Nureyev practically snarled. Then that cold, hard, glare of his resurfaced, and Juno was faced with the full force of his anger.  “Don’t you get it Juno? You don’t have to save the day!”</p><p>“Buddy would have died if I hadn’t! What about that do you not understand?”</p><p>“I understand enough—“ he said, cut off by the dimming of the ship's running lights. It was midnight, and Juno knew Buddy wouldn’t be happy if they kept screaming while she tried to sleep. And the Big Guy next door probably wouldn’t like it too much either.</p><p>Nureyev seemed to have the same idea. “We will be discussing this further in the morning. Goodnight, Juno.”</p><p>And as he walked away, Juno couldn’t stop the pang in his chest whenPeter disappeared into his quarters. Then Juno had to stop and correct himself, because those were their quarters, not just Nureyev’s anymore. </p><p>It took him a minute too long to realize he was still standing in the hallway, staring at the spot where Nureyev had just been. Juno’s stomach twisted at thought. </p><p>After what felt like hours, Juno made his way back into their room, where Nureyev was asleep, or at least pretending to be. He laid on the far side of the bed, his back to the door. </p><p>And as Juno slipped into the bed, all he could think about was how far away Nureyev seemed. Juno spent the next several minutes laying there, listening to Nureyev’s breath as he truly fell asleep.</p><p>Juno wanted to reach over and hold him, but if Nureyev was over there, Juno figured he couldn’t have wanted that. </p><p>So Juno stayed where he was, waiting for sleep to come, slowly. </p><p>Just as he began to think it wouldn’t, he noticed how Nureyev kept moving, shaking slightly. For a moment, Juno thought he was just shifting, or dreaming, and then he realized all at once:</p><p>He was cold. </p><p>Of course he was, he was always cold. And usually, well, Juno would be closer and Peter was always saying how he was warm.</p><p>Juno couldn’t just watch Nureyev lay there and shiver.</p><p>“Nureyev?” he whispered. Peter didn’t respond, so Juno reached over, touching Nureyev’s arm gently. </p><p>“Juno?” he whispered, sleepily. Even in the dark of the bedroom, he looked beautiful, with his long hair draped gracefully upon the pillow. Peter seemed to have forgotten their argument, even if just for a second. And then it all came rushing back, and his expression darkened. </p><p>“I—“ Juno said, stopping as if he didn’t know what he was going to say next. </p><p>“Yes?” Nureyev seemed almost impatient, or irritated, or something else Juno didn’t understand. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” Juno whispered. It took him a moment to realize he meant it. “I know it was wrong, I just—“</p><p>“You couldn’t take the chance that Buddy wouldn’t make it. I know.” Nureyev paused, rolling to face Juno. “But, perhaps, could we have this conversation in the morning?”</p><p>“It’s just—“ Juno sighed, “You were cold, and I, well I wasn’t going to just let you be cold over there.”</p><p>Peter smiled gently, and shifted closer, sighing as Juno wrapped his arms around him. </p><p>“You really are the best space heater I know, Juno,” he yawned. Juno held him tighter, and slowly they fell asleep, hands intertwined and wrapped up in each other so wholly that nothing else in the world could have mattered in that moment.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave kudos or a comment and have a fabulous day!! </p><p>If you want to say hi, I’m on tumblr at @amillionworlds!!</p><p>Bye!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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